Southern California -- this just in

Nigerian American man charged with 2 felonies in stowaway case

July 8, 2011 | 7:05
pm

The Nigerian American man who authorities say boarded a commercial flight using an expired boarding pass in another person’s name was charged Friday by a federal grand jury.

Olajide Oluwaseun Noibi, 24, was indicted on one charge of being a stowaway on a flight last month from New York to Los Angeles, and another charge of attempting to enter a secure area of Los Angeles International Airport, federal officials said.

Noibi, who remains in federal custody in Los Angeles, is scheduled to be arraigned in U.S. District Court on July 18.

Law enforcement officials allege that Noibi was able to board a Virgin America flight from New York to Los Angeles on June 25, making his way through layers of security. On June 29he was arrested as he tried to board a Delta flight out of Los Angeles using an expired boarding pass issued in someone else’s name, officials said.